Training Board Game and Method

ABSTRACT

A board game adapted for simulating with one player of the game the role of a representative making a sales call on a doctor and for simulating with another opposing player of the game the role of a doctor being called on by a sales representative and for utilizing the game play as a means for training the game&#39;s players as sales representatives to doctors, comprising: a pair of game pieces, one of the game pieces corresponding during play of the game to a player of the game acting in the role of a sales representative calling on a doctor and the other of the game pieces corresponding during play of the game to an opposing player of the game acting in the role of a doctor being called on by the sales representative; a game board bearing a track divided into a plurality of separate sequential spaces having certain of the spaces labeled in such a manner as to either reward or penalize a player landing on such space; a random number generator for regulating motion of the game pieces along said track; a timer; a plurality of scenario cards containing on one side of each card a role play for a sales representative and a hidden skill by which the performance of a sales representative is to be judged; and a set of rules making play for each turn dependent on use of the hidden skill and governing play of the game.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/091,314 filed on Mar. 28, 2005.

It is well known in the field of training sales representatives that the best way to improve a sales representative's skills is to role-play a hypothetical call between the representative and their prospect. However, current known methods lack effectiveness due to the fact that sales representatives can feel uncomfortable role-playing and lose focus quickly when doing so in a training session. Thus, the trainers and managers who conduct the role playing find themselves wasting precious time trying to keep the sales representatives focused on the task at hand. So far as is presently known, the prior art has not provided an apparatus or method for training sales personnel, which provides a relaxing and fun game for building skills and confidence in making sales calls, by way of role-playing.

The players of the game that is the subject of the present invention are typically sales representatives. The game of the invention is generally in the nature of a board game having a board formed with a track with sequential spaces, two or more game pieces for moving along the track according to a player's progress, a random number generator, such as a die, for computing the number of spaces to move the game pieces and a plurality of sales Scenario cards, each having a Scenario and what is referred to as a “Hidden Skill”. Selected of the spaces are labeled in an appropriate way so as to provide either a reward such as “Roll Again” or a penalty such as “Lose A Turn” when the player's game piece lands on a space so labeled. One of the players on one of the teams playing the game assumes the role of being a sales representative and another player on an opposing team assumes the role of being a doctor. A player's role when acting as a sales representative is to play a sales call based on a Scenario known to him, and in doing so execute a Hidden Skill, known only to an opposing player or team. The player acting the role of sales representative advances himself and his team upon successful execution of the Hidden Skill during his sales representative role-play within a predetermined timeframe. The players in turn act the role of being a sales representative and thus become engaged in playing a game while practicing valuable professional skills.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a game board component of the invention showing a track divided into a plurality of sequential spaces extending between a start and a finish end.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a die component of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a game piece component of the invention.

In the preferred embodiment, the game comprises a game board bearing a track, as in FIG. 1, one die, as in FIG. 2, two game pieces, one of which is shown in FIG. 3, a deck of sales Scenario cards, later described, and a timer. In the preferred embodiment, the track is divided into a plurality of sequential spaces extending between a start end and a finish end, with the start end being labeled “THE GATEKEEPER” and the finish end being labeled “VICTORY”.

The game board in the embodiment being used by way of example, may be constructed of any suitable material, but preferably comprises a relatively hard material forming a substantially solid surface on which to place the game pieces. As previously mentioned, the game board is formed with a track of sequential spaces selected ones of which are labeled in an appropriate way so as to provide either a reward such as “Roll Again” or a penalty such as “Lose A Turn” when the player's game piece lands on a space so labeled. The game board is preferably decorated in a fanciful manner and with appropriate graphic designs neither of which are shown. While the game pieces may be constructed of any suitable material such as wood, plastic, metal or the like, they preferably are molded of plastic for ease of construction and durability. The terms “game pieces” is used to refer to any device used to mark the location of the player or team's progress along the track. The deck of Scenario cards may consist of any number, but forty is preferred. The cards are preferably decorated and have appropriate graphics on the non-text bearing side. Each card according to a first embodiment will preferably contain the text of a Scenario, a description of a Product or Products, Call Length and a Hidden Skill. In a second embodiment, each card contains only a Scenario and a Hidden Skill. Additionally, the Scenario cards may contain other factors, constraints, or requirements for the player or team to comply with. A toy stethoscope is used to identify the player who assumes the role of a doctor in the role-played sales call and need not be a working stethoscope. All of the components are preferably packaged together in a single container for convenience.

By way of example, the following text may appear on a card:

Scenario: You bump into this Infectious Disease Specialist in the hallway of your hospital. Although he/she is in a hurry, she comments, “I was planning on writing your new antibiotic, but when I looked at the PI, I realized it only works on a few strains of E. Coli . . . ”

Product(s): XIFAXAN™

Call Length: 1 minute

Hidden Skill: Effectively presents the Steffen reprint to discuss spectrum of coverage

By way of another example, the following text may appear on a card:

Scenario: This G.I. doctor has a very busy practice and stays up-to-date on the latest products on the market. He/she enjoys socializing, but rarely gets an opportunity to spend much time with reps because of his/her patient load.

Product(s): XIFAXAN™, COLAZAL®, AZASAN®

Call Length: 4 minutes

Hidden Skill: Engaging opening to COLAZAL® call

By way of another example, the following text may appear on a card:

Scenario: You stop by this gastro's office at the end of a long day. Much to your surprise, he/she is just finishing with the last patient for the day and invites you into his/her office to sit and chat.

Product(s): XIFAXAN™, COLAZAL®, AZASAN®, ANUSOL®/PROCTOCORT®

Call Length: 6 minutes

Hidden Skill: Asks at least two open probes to determine physician's needs/priorities

The manner and rules of play are next described. The number of players is preferably four. However, there may be two, three, five, or more players. For an uneven number of players, for example, three, an individual may play against a team. Prior to beginning play, the Scenario cards are thoroughly shuffled and placed face down on the “Cards” section of the game board to start play. After a card is drawn and used, it is returned to the bottom of the card stack.

Each team chooses a game piece and places it on “The Gatekeeper” space. Each team is provided with at least one copy of mutually approved promotional materials to use while role-playing. On each turn, one player role-plays and acts as a sales representative, and a player on the opposing team role-plays and acts as a doctor.

The team in play decides which of them will be the sales representative during their first turn. The opposing team also determines which of them will assume the role of doctor during their first turn. Whoever is acting as doctor wears a toy stethoscope.

Teammates on each team preferably switch roles on subsequent turns in order that each player in the course of playing one or more games will gain experience both in selling a product as well as in the role of a doctor who is considering the same product. The players, who are not acting as sales representative or doctor on a given turn, silently observe and evaluate the role-play. The focus and length of each role-play is determined by the content of the sales Scenario card a new one of which is drawn on each turn.

As previously mentioned, each sales Scenario card according to a first embodiment contains four categories of information pertinent to each role play: (1) Scenario—describes the selling situation, (2) Product(s)—includes the product(s) the sales representative should include in the role-play, (3) Call Length—time allotted for the sales call, and (4) Hidden Skill—selling skill that must be effectively executed during the role play for a team to advance.

Prior to each role-play, the opposing team reads the information contained in the categories: “Scenario”, “Product(s)” and “Call Length” to the sales representative on the team in play. The opposing team does not reveal the “Hidden Skill” prior to the role-play. The object of each role-play is for the sales representative on the team in play to execute the “Hidden Skill” effectively. Each player when acting in the role of being a sales representative increases his team's chance of advancing by performing a complete, effective sales call on each turn and within the time allotted.

The text of the “Hidden Skill” included on the Scenario sales card being used might, for example, read: Engaging opening, handles doctor's objection, bridges from one product to the next, presents product benefits, asks at least one open probative question to identify the doctor's needs or priorities, uses sales aid or clinical reprint, or asks for a specific commitment from the doctor at the close of a call.

Both game pieces are placed on “The Gatekeeper” space at the beginning of the game.

The die is rolled to determine the order of play. The team with the highest roll rolls again and moves that number of spaces. It is essential that they do not reveal the “Hidden Skill” prior to completion of the role-play.

No additional time is given to prepare for each sales call. It may be assumed that the doctor and sales representative have established a relationship, and that sampling issues do not need to be addressed during the predetermined time.

When the timer beeps, or otherwise signals that a certain period of time has expired, the role-play is over. The opposing team then evaluates the call to assess if the “Hidden Skill” was executed effectively. If the “Hidden Skill” was successfully addressed, the team in play rolls the die and moves the appropriate number of spaces and prepares for their next role-play. The opposing team draws a sales Scenario card and reads aloud only the Scenario, Product(s), and Call Length sections of the drawn card. The opposing team reads the Hidden Skill silently. After listening to the Scenario, the player acting as the sales representative quickly selects the promotional piece or pieces he wishes to use in the sales call. The opposing team then sets the timer according to the predetermined call length (as indicated on the sales Scenario card) and signals the sales representative to begin. Play continues with this player or team, if more than one, until they do not successfully execute the “Hidden Skill” during role-play, or until they land on a “Lose A Turn” space.

The players of the opposing team judge the performance of the player who participated in the role play scenario as the sales representative to determine if that player performed the “Hidden Skill.” If the “Hidden Skill” was not performed, as determined by consensus of the players of the opposing team, the team previously referred to as the opposing team now becomes the team in play, selects a new card, rolls the die, moves that number of spaces, appoints its sales representative, who selects the promotional material he wants to use and proceeds with a role play. At the same time the opposing team appoints its doctor. If a team in play lands on a “Lose A Turn” space, no card is drawn or role-play evaluated for that team, and play continues with the other team. Play is of course assisted when a team in play lands on a “Roll Again” labeled space.

When judging whether a player has executed the “Hidden Skill”, certain aspects are considered. For example, scoring is all or nothing; the “Hidden Skill” was either executed, or it wasn't. The sales representative may complete a fantastic sales call, but his team does not get to advance unless he has executed the specific “Hidden Skill” specified on the sales Scenario card.

The first team to reach the “VICTORY” space by an exact roll of the die wins the game. Should the outcome of a roll of the die be more than the number of spaces needed to reach the “VICTORY” space, then the team loses its turn.

In a second embodiment, each sales card contains only the Scenario and Hidden Skill.

For this second embodiment, the call length timer is set for a predetermined time and the products are constant throughout the game.

In a third embodiment, certain spaces are labeled “Move Back One Space” or “Move Forward One Space” in addition to other text commanding that the game piece be relocated to another space on the track.

In a fourth embodiment, certain spaces are labeled “Doctor's Office” and there are two separate sets of cards. A first set of cards is referred to as “Scenario Cards” and a second set of cards is referred to as “Sales Cards.” Each sales card contains only the products, call length, and Hidden Skill. There is one prewritten Scenario Card for each Doctor's Office space. For each Doctor's Office space, a first Scenario Card governs the role play for the first player to arrive at the first Doctor's Office space. Any subsequent player to arrive at the first Doctor's Office space uses the role play from the player to arrive at that space before them as the scenario for their role play for that space, while drawing a Sales Card for use in the role play. Thus, as those skilled in the art will appreciate and understand, each subsequent player is building off of the experience of the previous player, much in the same way a first sales representative who calls on the same doctor as a second sales representative from the same company as the first would build off of what the first representative was speaking to the doctor about. In the sales field this is known as “Team Selling”. By way of example, in addition to the previously mentioned Hidden Skills, the following Hidden Skill would be appropriate for this embodiment: “Maintains call continuity without redundancy”.

Additional game pieces, a toy stethoscope, additional sales scenario cards or novelty items, and promotional materials may also be added. A spinner or electronic random number operator may be used as a random number generator instead of a die and an hourglass, a mechanical timer, or an electronic timer may be used instead as a timer.

It is also recognized that the illustrated components of the apparatus can be of an electronic form. For example, a computer could be used to present a visual image of the game board, visual images of the game pieces, visual representations of the text of the sales Scenario cards and provide a chance means or an electronic random number generator operator, and a timer.

Also recognized is that use of the game board training of the invention is not limited to the pharmaceutical industry. For example, the game board training of the invention can be used in other industries including, but not limited to, electronics, software, appliances, and automobiles. The sales Scenario cards are thus adapted to include Scenarios and Products appropriate to the industry of the players. Likewise, selected spaces on the game board can be named with names appropriate for the industry of the players. By way of example, “Doctor's Office” could be renamed “Chief Technology Officer's Office” for software sales representatives.

The game of the invention based on the example described can thus be summarized to be the following:

A game, comprising:

-   -   (a) a game board;     -   (b) a plurality of game pieces;     -   (c) a random number generator;     -   (d) a plurality of cards, each of said cards having a scenario         and a Hidden Skill contained thereon; and     -   (e) a set of rules governing play of the game, wherein said         rules require successful demonstration of said Hidden Skill in         order to advance and ultimately win the game.

With the above in mind, a principal object of the present invention is to provide an entertaining way to practice valuable sales skills, enabling its participants to become more comfortable in articulating key selling messages and consistently executing effective selling skills. Other objects will become apparent as the description proceeds.

While the invention has been described with regards to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. This invention is limited only insofar as it is defined by the following claims and includes within its scope all equivalents thereof. 

1. A game, comprising: (a) a game board; (b) a plurality of game pieces; (c) a random number generator; (d) a plurality of cards, each of said cards having a scenario and a Hidden Skill contained thereon; and (e) a set of rules governing play of the game, wherein said rules require successful demonstration of said Hidden Skill in order to advance and ultimately win the game.
 2. The game of claim 1, further comprising a timer.
 3. The game of claim 1, wherein said Hidden Skill comprises a sales skill that a player must successfully demonstrate during play of the game, as judged by opposing players of an opposing team.
 4. The game of claim 1, wherein said scenario details a role-play that must be acted out by players.
 5. The game of claim 1, wherein said card further comprises a time length for the scenario.
 6. The game of claim 1, wherein said card further comprises one or more products pertaining to the scenario.
 7. The game of claim 1, wherein said random number generator is selected from the group consisting of a dice, a spinner and an electronic random number operator.
 8. The game of claim 2, wherein said timer is selected from the group consisting of an hourglass, a mechanical timer and an electronic timer.
 9. A game, comprising: (a) a set of scenarios; and (b) a set of rules governing play of the game, wherein said rules require successful demonstration of a Hidden Skill during performance of a scenario in order to advance and ultimately win the game.
 10. The game of claim 9, further comprising a timer.
 11. The game of claim 9, wherein said Hidden Skill comprises a sales skill that a player must successfully demonstrate during play of the game, as judged by opposing players of an opposing team.
 12. The game of claim 9, wherein said scenario details a role-play that must be acted out by players.
 13. The game of claim 9, wherein said scenario further comprises a time length for said scenario.
 14. The game of claim 9, wherein said scenario further comprises one or more products pertaining to said scenario.
 15. The game of claim 9, wherein the game is played through use of a computer.
 16. The game of claim 10, wherein said timer is selected from the group consisting of an hourglass, a mechanical timer and an electronic timer.
 17. A method of playing a game, comprising: (a) role-playing a scenario between a plurality of players on two or more teams, wherein one player must demonstrate a Hidden Skill during his role-play; (b) wherein the Hidden Skill is unknown to the player that must demonstrate said Hidden Skill; and (c) wherein said player is judged by opposing players as to whether he effectively demonstrated said Hidden Skill.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein said scenario simulates a sales call being made by a sales representative to a prospective purchaser.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein said scenario is printed on a card.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the game is played through use of a computer 